City of DeKalb switches eletrical providers to ComEd

DeKALB – DeKalb residents will soon have electrical services provided by ComEd instead of Dynegy Energy after city staff elected to not enter into a new contract this year. Residential billing will remain the same since services are currently already billed through ComEd.

Residents should soon see a letter from ComEd regarding the change. Dynegy’s contract is set to expire at the end of October.

According to a news release from the City, officials had planned to enter into a new Electrical Aggregation Contract with a provider based on competitive quotes which could save residents money on their bills. Quotes which came in during the most recent bidding process showed “no real savings” would be applied if the City continued with the two energy companies fixed rates.

The two lowest contractors out of six quotes received were Dynegy Energy and AEP Energy, according to the City. Both offered fixed rates. Fix rate means the rate of pay – $7.371 per kilowatt-hour from Dynegy or $7.170 per kilowatt-hour for AEP – would not change over the course of the contract.

Commonwealth Edison’s rate, however, offered adjustable rates, city officials said, meaning at $7.301 per kilowatt-hour, could be adjusted throughout the season. According to the City, that rate is usually fixed from October through May but has “historically been significantly less” from June through September. ComEd’s rate during summer 2020 was $6.776.

“Staff evaluated both the option of a two and three-year term arrangement and concluded that a savings could not be guaranteed to residents by entering into such an agreement,” City officials wrote in the Friday announcement.

By default, the City’s current three-year contract with Dynegy, which began in 2019, will default and the electrical service provider will change to ComEd. City officials said they intend to again solicit new quotes from energy suppliers next year and will determine at that time if there is a potential savings to residents through a contract.

Through Rock River Energy Services, the City recently solicited quotes from various energy suppliers to determine if there was any potential savings to residents by signing a new Electrical Aggregation Contract, according to the release.

Residents with questions or concerns are asked to call 815-748-2050 or email bfaivre@ciyofdekalb.com.